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Attorney Marc Chytilo wasn’t impressed by Caltrans’s public meeting last week on the proposed suicide barrier for Cold Spring Bridge. “It was hugely overstaffed and overproduced,” he said, estimating the agency spent $15,000-$20,000 on creating “elaborate presentation materials” and bussing in nearly a dozen staffers. “They had their posters in frames,” he chuckled.

Chytilo — representing members of the anti-barrier group Friends of the Bridge, who contend a blockade would ruin the span’s panoramic view of the Santa Ynez Valley — successfully sued Caltrans into reworking and recirculating its report on the nine-foot, seven-inch fencing that would line the historic steel structure. The proposed mesh wall is meant to prevent any more people from leaping off what has become a magnet for those wishing to take their own lives in Santa Barbara County. Fifty-four have jumped to the rocks below since 1963.

Paul Wellman

Marc Chytilo (left) at last week’s public forum put on by Caltrans

Chytilo argued that the state transportation agency’s original 2009 Environmental Impact Report (EIR) failed to properly address the visual and cultural impacts such a barrier would have on the bridge, and that the public wasn’t given the opportunity to weigh in on the project. Judge Thomas Anderle agreed, and ordered Caltrans to stop work in July until a supplement to the EIR was vetted by Santa Barbara residents and then resubmitted for approval. A 52-year-old man jumped the same week workers halted construction.

When confronted with Chytilo’s complaint, Caltrans spokesperson Colin Jones was exasperated and incredulous. “We take the judge’s ruling very seriously,” he said, admitting Caltrans didn’t do a good enough job on its original EIR but promising the agency is committed to getting it right this time around in order to stop people from “using the facility to kill themselves.”

Jones explained that the reason a significant amount of money and resources were devoted to the meet-and-greet forum — numerous informational placards, interspersed with suited Caltrans reps, encircled the interior of San Marcos High School’s cafeteria — was to satisfy the judge’s decision and let citizens learn about the proposed barrier in a mellow, nonconfrontational format. “You do too little and people complain, then you do too much and people complain,” he said. “You can’t want this and then criticize it when you get it.”

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The hundred or so residents who showed up, he continued, were a testament to the event’s success. People tend to offer their opinions more openly when they can submit their comments in writing, he said, or privately with a court reporter, instead of facing a panel and crowd.

While Chytilo feels Caltrans went too far above and beyond, some members of the Santa Barbara City Council said there still isn’t enough transparency to Caltrans’s tune. Councilmembers Dale Francisco and Frank Hotchkiss will ask their colleagues during today’s council meeting to support a request that Caltrans provide precise engineering specs of Cold Spring Bridge so that they can better understand why a safety net alternative isn’t even an option.

“We hope that City Council will express its support for transparency in the interest of creating a true public consensus,” they wrote in a memo sent to City Administrator Jim Armstrong and other members of the council. Francisco and Hotchkiss also said that there’s no reason to release any figures to the public at large; specs would only need to go to State Historic Preservation Officer Wayne Donaldson, who’s worked with engineers on the submitted proposals.

In its supplement to the original EIR report, Caltrans essentially nixed the possibility of installing a net below the bridge designed to catch jumpers. It argued that five net variations — all placed 13-20 feet below either side of the bridge, beneath the pedestrian walkways — were “ultimately withdrawn from consideration” for a number of reasons:

Caltrans

Cold Spring Bridge suicide barrier net alternative

It’d take too long for rescue crews to reach someone who fell into the net, meaning they’d have time to recover from the stun of the original impact, make their way to the edge, and jump again. Emergency personnel would also be subject to “unacceptable risk” when plucking jumpers from the net, potentially dealing with a “distraught, uncooperative, or violent” individual while teetering 400 feet above the canyon.

The net would also act as an “attractive nuisance,” argued Caltrans, potentially luring thrill seekers. It’d also “diminish the integrity of the historic structure” by permanently altering its appearance and cost too much to put in and maintain. Lastly, and most importantly, Caltrans said Cold Spring Bridge simply can’t accommodate a net alternative because of the structure’s design load limitations.

The EIR supplement, though, intentionally omitted any specific data on this last point because of “sensitive public safety and security issues pertaining to Homeland Security, which have been in place for several years well before a suicide barrier was proposed,” said Jones in a statement.

Marc McGinnes, a lawyer and former UCSB professor who now heads anti-barrier group Friends of the Bridge, doesn’t buy it. “Caltrans was wrong before,” he said, claiming the agency has already made up its mind and is finding any excuse to push the fence barrier proposal through. “We have learned enough not to take their word on it,” he said.

Paul Wellman

Mark McGinnes (background, center) at last week’s public meeting hosted by Caltrans

McGinnes and others contend a net below the bridge would preserve “years of viewing time” for the 16,000 people that drive across it every day, and save lives at the same time. And McGinnes said when it comes to building a barrier, money should be no object and Caltrans shouldn’t use the additional cost as an excuse. “It’s a world-renowned bridge,” he said. “Spend the money.” The project’s price tag, growing larger every time its delayed, is currently hovering above the $3 million mark.

Central to McGinnes’s argument for a net alternative is news that San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is moving closer and closer to putting one in place to catch the average of two dozen people who jump off that span each year. If it works for the Golden Gate, McGinnes argued, it should work for Cold Spring Bridge. Chytilo agreed, explaining that the net alternative for the Bay Area span faced the same challenges and criticisms but has so far been able to overcome them.

Like McGinnes, Chytilo thinks Caltrans isn’t looking hard enough at all the options, and is pushing the fence barrier without providing all the facts. “It was clear from [Wednesday’s] materials that Caltrans has already made a decision,” said Chytilo, elaborating that the Sheriff’s Department — which supports the fence option — is being similarly, prematurely dismissive.

Lt. Darin Fotheringham, in attendance last week with a few other department representatives, said the preferred mesh fencing design is a good one and that he doesn’t think a net would be as feasible or practical. In its EIR supplement, Caltrans explains that the fence’s in-curving grid panels would have two-inch square openings that’d make it hard for anyone to secure finger- and toe-holds. And the steel itself, the agency writes, would be coated with a low-reflectivity finish to help reduce glare and “allow the grid/mesh to recede visually.”

Paul Wellman

Caltrans representative Bob Carr (left) speaks to the public during Wednesday’s forum

The other barrier option — called the Vertical Picket Alternative and characterized by a row of thick steel rods — wouldn’t blend with the background as well and would “result in the barrier itself being more noticeable,” writes Caltrans. Regardless of the final design, Fotheringham said, it’s imperative a fence be put in place soon. Some of his most hair-raising moments on patrol duty, he explained, were on the bridge. “It’s flat-out scary,” he mentioned regarding the two-foot, seven-inch railing now in place. He also spoke about his experience of recovering bodies, explaining that the instances when he had to deliver death notifications to surviving family members still haunt him.

Responding to those who say no barrier is acceptable — that any such addition to the bridge would be detrimental to its grandeur and history — Fotheringham said the benefit would far outweigh the impact. He opined that while there’s definitely resistance to the barrier, it’s only coming from a small, though admittedly vocal, minority of Santa Barbara residents.

One of those citizens, who declined to give his name, approached the group of deputies shortly thereafter and said saving someone’s life isn’t worth obstructing his view from the bridge. The Sheriff’s personnel respectfully disagreed and the man moved on. Others against a barrier, though, approached the issue more sober-mindedly last week. Santa Ynez resident Dan Hoagland said he thought the fence wouldn’t save anyone’s life, and that suicidal individuals will simply figure out other means to kill themselves.

This argument — that a barrier wouldn’t decrease suicide rates overall, but would just push men and women toward other fatal strategies — was resolutely refuted by Dr. Lisa Firestone. Firestone, who works closely with the Glendon Association, said “access to the means” does matter, elaborating that multiple studies conducted across the country in recent years show that barriers are effective in deterring suicides overall and giving those thinking about jumping time to reconsider and seek help. All 29 people who leaped off the Golden Gate Bridge and survived, she said, reported that they immediately regretted jumping as soon as they left the ledge. None went on to kill themselves. Suicide by jumping is oftentimes a spontaneous, impulsive act, and erecting a barrier would eliminate that immediate option for troubled people, said Firestone.

Paul Wellman

Karen Aydelott

Karen Aydelott, whose 41-year-old son Matthew fell to his death in September 2008, thinks a barrier would have given him enough pause to rethink his options. She tabled with other Glendon Association representatives in support of the fencing. “There’s another 32 miles of gorgeousness along the route,” she said, in reference to complaints of lost vistas from the bridge. “We’re risking lives for a 10-second view — what does that say about us?”

Son of former county supervisor Brooks Firestone and former Bachelor contestant Andrew Firestone (no relation to Dr. Lisa Firestone) came to the meeting in support of the barrier. He recounted seeing firsthand a man leap over the bridge’s short railing in October 2009 and plummet downward. Firestone explained he was driving from Santa Ynez to Santa Barbara when, on the bridge, he saw a car coming the other direction slow down and stop. “I knew in my gut the person was going to jump,” he remembered. Firestone stopped his car to get out and stop what he knew was about to happen, but couldn’t reach the man in time. “The guy took four steps forward, glanced back at me, and jumped,” he said.

Rattled by the experience, Andrew Firestone agreed with Dr. Lisa Firestone that suicide is an impulsive action, and taking away the option of Cold Spring Bridge to commit the final act is a no-brainer. “To have such a public, romantic way to express frustration, depression, and anger is dangerous,” he said. “It chills me to the bone when driving across to know that it’s a place where people go to commit suicide. It’s not healthy.”

Comments

>>"multiple studies conducted across the country in recent years show that barriers are effective in deterring suicides overall and giving those thinking about jumping time to reconsider and seek help."<<

It is sad that someone with a pseudonym can call someone who has produced an learned response a fraud. Perhaps a photo of the "citizen" declining to provide his name would reveal Pinatubo's identity.

As for council members Francisco and Hotchkiss nit picking things literally to death; I really wish they'd metal in affairs that are more prominently in their jurisdiction. B.T.W. does anyone know what council member Dale Francisco does to support himself in luxurious Santa Barbara lifestyle.

McDermott, why not focus on issues instead of constant assaults on individuals? Unless Francisco is a criminal, what's the difference what he does to support himself? At least he doesn't live in his relatives' illegally rented subsidized apartment, as did Das.

I am solidly against a view-destroying hurricane-type fence along the bridge and I do wonder why Caltrans asserts engineering issues with a net but refuses to release their calculations. That and the question of whether Council has any legitimate say over the bridge are the questions here, not where Francisco gets his money. Sheesh.

If you read the link provided you'll see it goes to a UCSB professor's webpage who was asked to look into the research on suicide barriers. He caught the barrier supporters in numerous misrepresentations and outright lies about the scientific research on barriers.

It's become clear that Caltrans and the barrier supporters are willing to say anything to get their way, which is why I'm glad public officials are finally starting to ask some questions.

Good for the Indy to find the rendering (picture illustration) of the new alternative.

"The net alternative for the Bay Area span faced the same challenges and criticisms but has so far been able to overcome them" is noted in this article; however, if someone jumps or slides over the railing onto the cantilever net structure, then what prevents that same someone from crawling to the edge of the net and deliberately plummeting down into the canyon, which would be a mere 2 meters closer to the ground?

No, the conclusion is not to abandon the new structure or "horizontal barrier" proposed alternative project for the bridge, but rather to send the money back to the original freeway widening project from where it was redirected/stolen a year ago, or spend these public funds on any other local highway safety project where the driving or riding public has real hazards from lack of guard rails, tight turns, potholes, etc.

Caltrans' proposal to build a ten-foot-high cage on top of the bridge railings will be highly visible from both the bridge deck and from below. The net alternative will only be visible from below. Six million people per year cross over the bridge while a tiny fraction of that number travel the narrow road underneath the bridge. The visual impact of the Caltrans cage proposal is much, much greater than the net alternative.

He fixed it, with promises that he'd actually publish his study... but, did he ever publish? If so, where? If not, why is he any more believable than anyone else?

Perhaps Marc Chytilo could donate some of the $125,000 of taxpayers' money he won for attorney's fees to defray the cost of this presentation... or maybe he could make a big donation to organizations that actually work on mental health or suicide prevention. He finds it easier to wisecrack.

zorro - depends whether you think people can register much scenery in 10 secs versus 30 mins or more from below. At the road level, after and before the 10 secs there is at least 20 - 30 minutes of uninterrupted view, where the 10 secs represents .05% of the journey. Statistically insignificant.

One question is whether such engineering specs even exist. Hotchkiss and Francisco are also not asking to review the engineering specs themselves, but are asking for a qualified outside engineer to review them.

After all, while crossing the bridge one should always divert one's attention from the narrow two-lane roadway to gawk and snap pictures of the beautiful valley below.

Never mind that there's a scenic turnout just 500-feet west of the bridge just down the lane which affords a safer vantage point from which to gawk and snap pictures without endangering drivers or jumpers.

I'd love to see these anti-barrier activists expend the same energy where it is truly needed in permanently halting trucks from using San Marcos Pass as a shortcut while endangering innocent drivers AND people who have the audacity to be asleep in their beds while another truck comes crashing through intersections at the bottom of 154.

Yesterday the Santa Barbara City Council agreed unanimously to take an important step to resolve the controversy over what this story calls the "bridge of no agreement." (Bad timing, Indy.)

By a vote of 7-0 the City Council directed that a letter be sent to SBCAG in time for consideration at its Jan 20 meeting, requesting that SBCAG, as a co-sponsor and funder of the cage fencing barriers proposal, to urge Caltrans to come clean about why it has made the so-far unsupportable assertion that it would not be feasible to install an appropriate variation of the under-the-roadway horizontal barrier design that has been approved for installation on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Caltrans has claimed that considerations of "homeland security" prevent it from backing up its "not feasible" assertion with appropriate data and information that can be independently evaluated by the State Historic Preservation Officer who had requested it but was rebuffed by Caltrans.

UNANIMOUS AGREEMENT was achieved by the City Council on this important issue, and no less should be expected of the 13 members of SBCAG. The time has come when Caltrans must be made to listen not only to our judges but to our elected representatives about how to do its work in our community.

It is not too late for Caltrans to come clean, to give up on trying to install tall fencing cages, and to get to work on coming up with a far better project. It is precisely the right time for our elected officials to be making this demand.

What is truly astounding to me is there is a "Friends of the Bridge", the bridge being an inanimate structure, steel and concrete and so little empathy for those who lose their lives, the survivors of suicide and the public safety personnel who respond to the deaths, risk their own lives and have to notify the families of those who's bodies are crushed, mangled and die. There is nothing abstract about the pain of impact, the breaking of bones and the blood spilled.

There is no question that barriers save lives. Stop with the grandstanding and the fairy tale solutions that won't work in the real world. Suicide is often a death resulting from easy opportunity that thwarted means additional time for reconsideration and ultimately a life saved. This is what the professionals from Glendon and other psychiatric and social service organizations tell us. People who has jumped from a bridge and survived have said the moment they were airborne, they regretted their decision. Build the barrier. Delay means more deaths from this bridge. None of those posting inane comments will have the responsibility or duty to face the parents, spouses, brothers and sisters and children of the dead to tell them their loved one is gone.

I have no idea if pedronava = sevendolphins, but I am certain that Pedro Nava and Poco Nada are one and the same, as others have suggested.

Shame on NadaNava, who abused his position in Sacramento by trying to steal $1,000,000 from funds expressly set aside for traffic safety/collision reduction purposes in order fund the caging of the bridge, and who conspired to keep local historic preservation and environmental protection groups in the dark about the proposal until-- he hoped-- it would be too late from them to mount effective opposition to the caging proposal.

Shame on NavaNada, who gained office by ruthless disregard for campaign ethics, and who today would cynically laugh at the idea that the two words could be placed side-by-side.

And shame on him for using this issue to try to keep alive his ego-driven hopes to one day regain political power.

The Santa Barbara News Press reported today than another person jumped from the bridge. That makes 55 since the bridge was opened. Barriers Save Lives. Sign the Petition:http://www.thepetitionsite.com/51/sup...

At about 4:30 p.m., the department received a report that someone had jumped from the bridge, which has been the site of more than 50 suicides since it was built in 1964.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department also responded to the scene.

Work on a vertical barrier on the bridge to prevent suicides was moving forward in July when Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle found that Caltrans violated California Environmental Quality Act regulations in the public outreach process.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the group Friends of the Cold Spring Bridge, which claimed Caltrans didn't adequately consider a cantilever net alternative.

As a result, Caltrans is circulating an updated environmental report, with additional information on the net, to the public for review.